Luanda — The Organic Law on General Elections, which establishes the principles and structuring rules adopted for the 24 August elections, provides penalties for the abusive use of airtime.
According to article 173, related to Offences Related to Electoral Campaign, a candidate, party or coalition of political parties that, during the electoral campaign, use, on radio or television stations, expressions or images that constitute a crime of defamation, slander or insult of the person of another and make an appeal to war, may immediately lose the right for the remaining airtime.
According to the law, the punishment is in accordance with the seriousness of the offence committed, regardless of civil and criminal liability.
The suspension is extensive to all radio and television stations, even if the fact determining the punishment occurred in only one of them.
The law establishes the object (principles and structural rules relating to general elections), territorial scope, the convening and scheduling of general elections, the right and duty to vote, enforcement over time, electoral litigation, electoral observation and electoral administration abroad.
It regulates active and passive electoral capacity and special electoral capacity, highlighting the capacity for the post of President of the Republic and impediments.
Likewise, it addresses the passive electoral capacity for the mandate of deputy to the National Assembly (Angolan Parliament).
The diploma also makes reference to electoral systems, oneness of the vote, ballot paper, election day, electoral system for the election of the President and Vice-President of the Republic, electoral constituency, election model, system for the election of deputies, electoral constituencies and number of seats, election mode, distribution of seats within the lists and proportional representation system.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
It also delimits, among other aspects, the status of candidates and the presentation of candidacies, the right to be relieved of duties, immunities, legitimacy, the principle of the oneness of candidacies, the names, acronyms and symbols, the representatives of the candidates, the publication of the candidacies and the drawing of lists.
It also addresses the issue of withdrawal, incapacity and substitution of candidacies.
The law provides the Right to Vote, the Exercise of the Right to Vote, the Right to Withdraw, the Freedom and Confidentiality of Voting, the Requirements for Exercising the Right to Vote, the Place to Vote, Early Voting, the Start of Voting, the Order of Voting, the Causes for non-voting, among other things.
In relation to clearance, it mentions issues related to Transparency and Technological Security, Scrutiny, Preliminary Operations, Opening of Polls, Counting, Destination of Ballot Papers and Publication of National Results.
It determines the Bodies of the Independent Electoral Administration, Electoral Offences (Litigation Appeal, Content of the Complaint, Object of the Appeal and Competent Court, Legitimacy to Appeal, Time Limits, Suspensive Effect of the Appeal, Proceedings, Nullity of Electoral Acts).
Among its provisions, it also addresses the Disclosure of Surveys and the Transfer of Custody and Management of FICRE.
